Mumbai: Pro-Vidarbha activists will observe the Maharashtra Day on May 1 as 'Black Day' and will take out rallies and hold demonstrations to press their demand for a separate state. Farmers and tribals of the region are likely to respond in a big way to the agitation call given by veteran pro-Vidarbha activist Jambuwantrao Dhote, people associated with the movement said.

The Vidarbha region in the eastern part of Maharashtra consists of 11 districts. There has been a long-pending demand for a separate Vidarbha state.

"The state government has been neglecting the basic demands of the lakhs of debt-ridden cotton farmers who are killing themselves daily, making this one of the most-suicide prone regions in the country," Tiwari said.

He alleged that the state leadership, dominated by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in western Maharashtra, was diverting funds meant for development of Vidarbha -- and now even food and fuel quotas allotted to the region.

The people of the region have been left with no option but to aggressively re-start the demand for "freedom" for a separate Vidarbha state, he added.